> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Saint John’s to the rescue in Mississippi
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/saint-johns-to-the-rescue-in-mississippi/
- Published: 2005-09-17T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T07:47:54.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Health, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

Medical staff from a local hospital has dispatched its most qualified to assist in relief efforts in regions battered by Hurricane Katrina.

Saint John’s Health Center and its parent company, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health Systems, have been working with the Mississippi Nursing Board and the Department of Health and Human Services to respond to the need for nurses and other staff, in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

An initial rapid response team of four nurses from Saint John’s Health Center traveled this week to Poplarville, Miss., to help with the dire nursing shortage at Pearl River County Hospital. The hospital is 40 miles from the Gulf Coast, and has taken many patients in from other hospitals in the region that were out of commission.

The team consists of Fiorella Peterson, R.N., a Westchester resident; Paula McCloy, R.N., an El Segundo resident; Ann Debello, R.N.; and Margaret Ecker, both Los Angeles residents. Peterson works in the ambulatory medicine unit; McCloy is Saint John’s risk manager with significant experience working in clinical care and medical-surgical units; Debello is a critical care nurse and Ecker is the director of nursing education and a pediatric nurse.

The team will serve for one week and then be replaced by a similar team from Saint Vincent Healthcare, another affiliate hospital based in Billings, Mont. That team will be replaced by a team from another affiliate yet to be determined. The rapid response teams will fulfill a one-week commitment to answer the most immediate needs.

In conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services, plans are being made to build several larger teams of approximately 25 people to answer longer-term needs. The teams would ideally volunteer for two-week assignments with plans for them to rotate. Teams would be comprised of staff across the system from a variety of disciplines, including nursing, physicians, respiratory therapists, and mental health professionals.

Saint John’s and Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health Systems also are collecting donations and matching employee contributions up to $100,000\. SCLHS has identified Catholic Charities USA and American Red Cross as the main recipients of donations and will direct all money collected to those organizations, to be shared equally. Each affiliate foundation of SCLHS, including Saint John’s, has established a Hurricane Katrina disaster relief fund to directly receive employee contributions to the fund. Employees can also donate their paid time off.

“While the initial need was for acute patient care and rescue efforts, the need now is for continued financial support and caregivers, to help those with chronic illnesses and to replace staff who need relief,” said Mary Ellen Blakley, vice president of patient care services at Saint John’s Health Center. “Hospitals and nursing homes have been destroyed, and outlying areas are overwhelmed with evacuees. Therefore, it is anticipated that this will be a long-term effort for Saint John’s and SCLHS. Others who responded immediately will need relief and to be replaced by new care-givers. Because we have been thorough in our planning, we have a process in place to provide a sustained level of volunteers.” A salute to the Santa Monica Salvation Army

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 17, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091705.pdf?ref=smdp.com)